Hurricane Incoming

The featherweight division is the most talent-rich in the UFC at the moment, having current superstars, young talents, and certified legends, all competing in the top 10, making it the most exciting era in the division’s history. However, right outside the top 10, a Hurricane is on the verge of taking the featherweight landscape by storm.

Hurricane Shane Burgos was your typical high school student, still unsure of what he wanted to do in life. One thing he was certain of and that was him being a huge MMA fan, but little did he know. He was about to become one of the best, most electrifying fighters of our generation.

It wasn’t quite that simple. After attending the first mixed martial arts class at 15 years of age, Shane knew that this is what he was born to do. However, immediately after deciding to chase his dream, the ambitious New Yorker gets diagnosed with scoliosis, left with no other option than undergoing surgery right away.

There was only one thing on his mind at the time, will I ever be able to fight? The doctor’s response was, “you might never be able to walk properly, let alone compete.”

The stubborn New Yorker kept his eye on the prize, leaving the hospital with 2 rods, 18 screws in his back with a lot of pain, doubt, but more than anything, overpowered by hope and faith.

It was a long road to recovery, especially at such a young age. Still, Burgos was determined more than ever to overcome and persevere, and a few months later, he was back in the gym like he never left, convinced that since he was able to overcome this type of adversity, then nothing was going to stop him.

Three years later, he made his amateur debut, taking a step closer to make the dream a reality, and in just three years, he signed off from the amateur scene with a record of 6-0, ready to make a run in the professional ranks.

The New Yorker was on a mission, starting his professional career by taking over the east coast with a record of 7-0 (7 finishes), building a reputation with his dangerous repertoire as a finisher with knowing nothing other than walking his opponents down until he gets the finish, it was only a matter of time before he got the call from the UFC masses to make his debut in the biggest stage of all.

While Shane was expecting his first daughter’s arrival, he was always in the gym working on his craft and sharpening his tools to stay ready for his moment to shine, knowing that it was inevitable that a blessing with his newborn daughter was coming. Just like that, he gets the call from the UFC to make his debut on two weeks’ notice in his backyard in New York. Although it was a short notice fight, he knew that opportunities to greatness were never ideal since the very first moment he decided to go on this glory hunt as a kid.

Walking out to the song invincible embodying how he felt, all eyes were on the newcomer. Throughout the years, we’ve seen fighters crumble under the pressure of fighting in their hometown. It certainly wasn’t the case with the NewYorker. Putting on an absolute clinic in front of his people, showing them that they don’t have to look any further for a hometown hero because Shane Burgos is the name, and he has arrived in style.

The company knew what they had in their hand, a young legend in the making with a style that screams must-see TV.
The young prodigy was getting more cerebral every time he stepped out to the octagon. Having his first 3 UFC fights at home, putting on a show in every aspect of the game.

Pick your poison with the Bronx Born, power in both hands, conditioning for days, constant suffocating pressure that breaks men who take pride in having the strongest will.

After passing every test with flying colors, protecting The Empire City, making it known as his territory. The time had finally arrived for the young prodigy to leave the city that never sleeps on a quest to claim another land as his own, but the destination was the rival land, nowhere other than the streets of Boston.

Standing across from him was the Boston finisher Calvin Kattar. It was a matchup that captured all eyes around the world, a clash between the two most precise strikers with arguably the best jabs in the sport, period.

The fight lived to everything we hoped it would and some more. Both men’s skillsets were even, with the Bostonian getting the first round and the New Yorker taking the second. The winner of the third round takes all, and out of nowhere, Calvin Kattar gets the finish in the third. Both men got the Fight Of The Night bonus, but it was the first blemish on the Hurricane’s record.

Burgos had found himself in uncharted waters. Returning to the empire state hours after the loss, he found himself running like a madman in the cold, snowy streets of New York, driven more than ever to make a comeback with the vision being more evident than ever.

After spending ten months mastering his craft with the mindset of making a comeback with a statement for the world to see, he lands in nowhere other than the most prestigious arena in sports history, Madison Square Garden against Kurt Holobough.
A comeback, in your hometown, in the most iconic arena of them all? You can’t script this, truly, a moment of what dreams are made of.

The fight starts and Shane was dropped in the first two minutes of the fight, but no one was going to spoil his return, so as he was going down from a vicious left hook, he took Kurt’s arm on the way down, and that was all she wrote. A first-round armbar win with the Hurricane exiting 2018 with a reminder that he’s far from just a striker.

The momentum kept rising. Outclassing the legendary Cub Swanson and stopping the touting prospect Makwan Amirkani in his tracks with a third-round knockout.

Riding a three-fight win streak, Burgos was set to face one of the sport’s hardest hitters, Josh Emmet, who has scored knockdowns in every featherweight fight he has ever been in.

Both men put it all on the line, giving us one of the greatest fights in the history of the division.
The fight could’ve gone either way, but Emmet stole the victory with a late knockdown in a battle for the ages.

The 29-year-old found himself in a familiar position, losing the fight that was supposed to catapult his career to enter the top five shark tank.

There is a pattern that all legends go through. Facing setbacks just when they thought it was their time to take over.
Not everyone can persevere in these types of situations, but those who do will inevitably reach the sport’s highest heights.

The Bronx born is striving for the young legend status, and his setback has set him up for a comeback on the biggest card of the year on the Mcgregor Poirier undercard. The man who will be standing in his path to glory is Mean Hakeem Dawodu.

Burgos will enter the fight with his second daughter on the way, motivated more than ever with the mindset of having mouths to feed, expect an absolute barnburner with a furious pace early. Ladies and gentlemen, on January 23rd, a Hurricane is incoming.